had to find ways to survive, and had chosen logic and stubbornness over compliance and self-pity. She was brave. He’d give her that. Not many people would take him on.
‘No argument, Don Xavier?’
He raised a brow, but what she’d said was true. His reputation hung by a thread. He lived hard and fast, funded by the lifestyle his highly successful business ventures provided. He wasn’t interested in love and caring. They had only brought him disappointment in the past. He had no time for such things now. That was why he had avoided both the island and his aunt. He wasn’t proud to admit that the thought of rekindling the feelings he’d had for the old lady when he was a boy had made it easier for him to stay away. His parents had knocked all thoughts of love out of him. More grief? More regret? Why would he invite them in? He’d done what Doña Anna had asked him to do, which was to make more money to fund those schemes she would have been proud of, and that had to be enough.
But his mischievous aunt was asking more of him in her will. He could only imagine she had been playing games with him when she had added a particular caveat that stood in the way of him claiming his inheritance.
‘I imagine it’s the terms of your aunt’s will that brought you here,’ the girl commented forthrightly.
What business was it of hers?
Against his better judgement, his senses stirred as she continued to interrogate him with her astonishingly beautiful amethyst eyes.
‘We’re both here for the same reason, I imagine,’ he countered evenly. ‘To sort out the terms of the bequest.’
‘I live here, you don’t,’ she said, smiling a faint challenge at him.
Was she staking her claim? If she’d read the will, and he presumed she had, she would know he could forfeit his half of the island if he didn’t provide the estate with an heir within two years. It must have amused his aunt to put his infamous reputation to the test.
‘You’re under some pressure, I imagine,’ the girl said.
Seeing the glint of amusement in her eyes, he guessed she was enjoying this as much as his aunt must have done. He could imagine them getting on together. And of course the girl could afford to laugh, as her fifty per cent of the island was safe. All she had to do was wait him out, hope he didn’t produce an heir, and she would own the island outright. His trump card was the fact that she didn’t have any money to support herself, so nothing was certain. Not yet.
‘So you’re familiar with the terms of my aunt’s will?’ he confirmed as they stood facing each other, weighing each other up.
‘Yes,’ she said frankly. ‘Your aunt’s lawyer was difficult to begin with. He didn’t want to show me anything, but I insisted.’
I bet you did, he thought.
‘He couldn’t deny my request,’ she explained. ‘To be honest, I just wanted to see your aunt’s will with my own eyes to confirm that I really had inherited half of Isla Del Rey, but then...’ Biting down on her lip, she looked away.
‘Yes?’ he prompted, sensing serious thoughts beneath her calm exterior. The worst mistake he could make would be to take this woman lightly.
‘But then I read that bit about you,’ she said, refocusing her luminous stare on his face. ‘So I understand the pressure you’re under.’ She couldn’t resist a little smile as she added, ‘I always knew Doña Anna had a strange sense of humour, but I have to admit she excelled herself this time. Maybe if you hadn’t ignored her for so long—’
‘I stand reprimanded,’ he said curtly. He didn’t want to discuss his aunt with anyone, let alone this young woman.
‘The thing I find confusing,’ she said, ‘is this. I always thought Doña Anna believed in family. At least, that was the impression she gave me, but now it seems she was hell-bent on punishment.’ She screwed her eyes up as she thought about it.
And they were still beautiful.
‘Punishing me, not you,’ he said.
‘But still...’ She stared at him with interest for a good few moments. ‘You must have really rattled her cage. But you did, by staying away so long.’
She wasn’t frightened of speaking her mind. The more he saw of her, the more she intrigued him. His original intention had been to send her sailing away from the island on a raft made of money. He doubted now he’d met her that she’d stand for that. She was intelligent and defiant, and also extremely attractive.
That sort of interest could get in his way. He couldn’t allow distractions like this girl to knock him off course. She was right about the will throwing everything into chaos. Doña Anna, of all people, should have known his limitations. He could make money hand over fist, but he’d make a lousy parent. Why try to saddle some poor child with a father who was incapable of feeling?
‘We’d better go to the house,’ he said, turning to the main point of his visit.
‘What? No,’ she said.
‘I beg your pardon?’ He swung around to see her digging her little toes into the sand.
‘You should have contacted me in the usual way—to arrange a meeting that didn’t involve a confrontation on the beach at dawn,’ she explained, frowning at him.
He dipped his head to hide a smile. People had been known to try and bribe his PA to secure a few minutes of his time. Rosie Clifton, on the other hand, was only short of his aunt’s walking stick to wave in his face as she did her best to drive him away. But her time was up now. However appealing he might find her, he was a busy man.
‘I said, no!’
He gazed at her with incredulity as she took the few steps necessary to dodge in front of him and block his way. ‘It’s not convenient,’ she explained, holding her ground.
Not convenient for him to tour his house, his island? An astonishing number of doors might have opened in the recent past for orphaned Rosie Clifton, but no door had ever closed in his face. He would visit his house, and he would tour his island. And then he would decide what to do about the girl.
‘Perhaps another time?’ she tempered, reacting to his thunderous expression no doubt. ‘Some time soon?’ she offered with the hint of a smile.
Her charm was wasted on him. ‘Some time now,’ he insisted, moving past her.
HE SHOULD HAVE known she’d race after him. When she grabbed hold of his arm, he felt the power of those tiny fingers as clearly as if they were stroking his groin. The thought of those hands clutching him in the throes of passion was enough to stop him dead in his tracks. Her touch was electrifying. And then there was her spirit. Rosie Clifton might not possess a fraction of his wealth or power, but she knew no fear. It was impossible for him not to admire her just a little.
‘You can come up to the house another time,’ she said, still hanging on to his arm as she stared up into his face. ‘We’ll make a proper appointment. I promise.’
‘Will
